15 Mistakes You’re Making With Your Cast-Iron Skillet
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It may appear like a robust, dependable kitchen workhorse, and your cast iron skillet certainly is. That cast-iron skillet is perfect for cooking a variety of delectable dishes, and it also doubles as a useful weapon if you live your life like a cartoon from the 1950s.
However, you may make many mistakes while using your reliable cast iron skillet, so you need to know what those faults are to avoid making them before you start cooking.
Letting Your Cast Iron Skillet Get Sticky
A common belief among enthusiasts of cast iron skillets is that a greasy, sticky skillet indicates excellent seasoning. This is untrue, as evidenced by the sticky skillet that implies the opposite.
It doesn’t take much heat for all the fats and oils to flake off the pan while you cook when they haven’t fully embedded themselves into its ridges, putting your food in direct touch with the unseasoned metal.
You’re Not Preheating Your Cast Iron Skillet Before Using It.
Allowing your cast iron to heat up is necessary before you begin searing a steak or cooking anything else. Food sticks to cast iron skillets if they aren’t heated completely before use. Although it takes a while to heat up and doesn’t preheat uniformly, cast iron is great at holding heat once it does.
Your skillet may be preheated on the burner or oven for approximately ten minutes. Today’s advice is to “Put the skillet on low heat and gradually raise it to the desired cooking temperature.
You Don’t Understand Seasoning.
Have you heard all the buzz about “seasoning,” a skillet made of cast iron? It goes beyond words. A film of polymerized oil that has been baked into the surface is referred to as seasoning. A well-seasoned skillet will effortlessly release food, clean up fast, and resist corrosion and stains. Certain cast-iron skillets, such as those manufactured by Lodge, have already been seasoned.
Their surface is lightly lacquered and smooth, non-greasy. When not pre-seasoned, they have a matte gray surface; nevertheless, they take on a lustrous, nearly black appearance after the season. Even if your skillet is pre-seasoned, you should still season it before using it for optimal results straight out of the package.
You’re Not Cleaning It Correctly.
This is a brief explanation of how to clean your cast-iron skillet:
- After cooking, rinse it in warm water, put some baking soda on it, and give it a light scrub with a nylon brush. The baking soda has antibacterial qualities and balances out scents and smells from your prepared food.
- Avoid soaking your cast-iron skillet in water, as this may cause rust, and wipe it dry completely with a dishtowel.
- To help maintain the seasoning for as long as possible, add a thin coating of vegetable oil to the pan while it’s still hot.
You’re Cooking All the Things in Your Cast Iron Skillet.
Nothing compares to a well-cooked Bolognese sauce simmering for hours while adding tomato paste, wine, and garlic. However, you should never cook anything like this on a cast-iron pan until it is extremely well-seasoned. High-acidity dishes, such as those with citrus or tomatoes, might lose the flavor you’ve worked so hard to develop and take on a metallic aftertaste when cooked in an improperly seasoned cast-iron skillet.
According to Bon Appétit, the acidity of vinegar or wine while deglazing might harm the pan. While adding some lemon zest to the chicken breasts you’ve been sautéing is acceptable, simmering tomatoes all day is not a good idea.
You’re Putting Your Cast Iron Skillet in the Dishwasher.
It’s simple to enjoy supper and a glass of wine without feeling like cleaning your cast-iron skillet. We’ve all been there, and don’t you dare put your cast-iron skillet in the dishwasher right before you climb into bed after blasting The Go-Go’s “Beauty and the Beat” at full power?
Since washing your cast-iron skillet in the dishwasher can destroy its seasoning and cause it to rust, it’s probably even better to let it rest on the kitchen counter.
You Use Harsh Chemicals.
Even if your skillet is rusty, you can still clean it without using harsh chemicals by using soap in moderation. Instead of using scouring powder or oven cleaning, all you need is baking soda, a cloth, and, if necessary, mild dish soap.
You’re Using the Wrong Spatula.
Cast iron skillets are a no-brainer kitchen equipment choice because they are almost unbreakable. However, depending on what you’re cooking and how well-seasoned your pan is, some work better than others.
You’re Using Your Cast-Iron Skillet to Cook Acidic Foods Like Tomato Sauce.
Relearning how versatile one cooking equipment can be is the reason for the cast iron skillet’s meteoric rise in popularity. Cast iron can significantly improve most recipes and products that are usually pan-fried.
However, despite how alluring it may seem, you shouldn’t think that your cast iron pan can handle everything, especially acidic foods like tomatoes. Tomatoes are quite acidic and are unhealthy for your cookware, whether raw, in a paste, or in a sauce.
Your Cast Iron Skillet Isn’t Drying for Long Enough.
Cast iron requires a lot of maintenance, but there’s one additional thing you need to watch out for: you can’t store your skillet with any moisture on it. If you do that, you will have rust spots; no one wants that after spending so much time seasoning it.
Placing your cleaned pan back on the stove is one of the simplest methods to ensure no moisture is left on it after using and cleaning it. Faith Durand at The Kitchn says, “Place the skillet over a medium flame and let it sit until very dry — about 5 minutes.“
You’re Using Your Cast Iron Skillet to Store Leftovers.
No, your cast-iron skillet isn’t made of plastic. It is not possible to stuff leftovers inside and refrigerate them with a foil covering. It may have further unfavorable effects, interfering with its seasoning and raising the risk of rusting in your cast iron pan. Iron poisoning might result from storing food in a cast iron pan.
“This is caused by ingesting too much iron,” claims Hunker from Healthline. The moisture that clings to the meal is what produces the iron. The iron is consumed together with the meal. That is not an issue when using modest amounts.
When Cleaning Your Cast Iron Skillet, You Are Not Using Salt.
You might want to try less intrusive techniques before using soap to clean your cast iron pan. Good old kosher salt is one of the greatest ways to clean your skillet.
Bon Appétit suggests scrubbing your still-warm pan with a kitchen towel after adding a cup of kosher salt. After using it, rinse the pan with hot water and thoroughly dry it before putting it away.
Not Scraping Off Food from Your Cast Iron
You can soak most of your pots and pans in soapy water to remove residue, but you shouldn’t do so with your cast iron skillet. Soaking cast iron is a simple technique that causes rust, much like putting it through the dishwasher.
But if you leave random food remnants in the skillet, they will eventually collect moisture and grow mold on the pan. This is unhealthy for you and will also cause an unpleasant odor from your pan.
Cooking Both Sweet and Savory foods In the Same Pan
Recall our earlier discussion on how cast iron skillets absorb tastes and scents.? To put that notion to the test, try baking a cookie in the same pan after preparing a flavorful fish meal, and then give the pan a quick wash down. You can be sure that supper will have some influence from dessert, even if you reverse the sequence.
To ensure your pan is completely deodorized and free of residual flavors, roast it upside down in the oven to remove any remaining food particles or oils.
Using A Non-Stick Cooking Spray on Your Cast Iron
Sealing your cast iron skillet may seem easier without cooking spray like Pam. Although most pans and skillets may be cleaned with these sprays, cast iron will only cause more issues than it will solve.
The Southern Living says, “lecithin is a chemical included in culinary sprays such as Pam.” Although lecithin is OK for most other cooking surfaces, cast iron can be harmful as it can cling to a seasoned pan and be challenging to remove.
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